July 2018 MMA News Archive

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Dustin Poirier ended his rivalry with Eddie Alvarez emphatically on Saturday night in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
In the UFC on Fox 30 main event, Poirier scored a second-round TKO over Alvarez to grab a clear victory in their rematch after the first fight ended in a no contest. Back in May 2017 at UFC 211, Poirier couldn’t continue after Alvarez landed an illegal knee to the head while the former was down.
Alvarez accused Poirier of quitting. Poirier pursued Alvarez for a rematch and was met with initial resistance before Saturday’s fight came to fruition. Poirier found himself in some trouble in the second round when Alvarez had him on his backside pinned against the fence. Unfortunately, Alvarez landed an illegal 12-6 elbow that cost him the position.

Despite having what promised to be two of the year’s wildest fights, and delivering on the promise, the television audience wasn’t there for Saturday night’s UFC on FOX 30.
The show did only 1,461,000 viewers on the fast nationals, the lowest number in the history of the show.
The show at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary was headlined by Dustin Poirier stopping Eddie Alvarez in round two, one of the wildest rounds in years, where both men were in trouble at various times before Poirier rallied to win. It was a rematch of an exciting UFC 211 fight and featured two competitors who have among the best track records at delivering crowd-pleasing fights.

Kyoji Horiguchi continues to cement himself as one of the top lighter weight fighters in the world, regardless of organization.
The former UFC title challenger weathered an early storm to win a decision in a rematch with Hiromasa Ogikubo at Rizin Fighting Federation 11 on Saturday at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama Japan. Ogikubo, a two-division Shooto champ, floored his opponent early, but could not capitalize on the fast start, as Horiguchi gradually took control. While the Japanese star was unable to get a finish, he did batter his foe with punches to the face and soccer kicks to the body, leaving Ogikubo bloodied at the end of the 10-minute affair.

The UFC has finally made several previously reported bouts official for its return to Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 22, and announced three new match-ups for the Fight Night event.
Scheduled for Sao Paulo’s Ibirapuera gymnasium, UFC Sao Paulo will feature Ketlen Vieira vs. Tonya Evinger, Ben Saunders vs. Sergio Moraes, and Thales Leites vs. Hector Lombard.
Vieira (10-0) was hoping for a shot at the bantamweight belt after winning four in a row inside the Octagon, capped off by a decision over Cat Zingano in March. Instead, she faces former Invicta FC champion Evinger, (19-6, 1 no-contest) who hasn’t fought since a loss to featherweight queen Cris Cyborg last July.

A bantamweight bout between Petr Yan and Douglas Silva de Andrade is headed to UFC Fight Night 136.
Bout contracts are expected to be finalized soon for the bout, according to a person close to one of the fighters who spoke to MMAjunkie on the condition of anonymity because the fight has not been made public. ESPN.com first reported the impending matchup.
UFC Fight Night 136 takes place Sept. 15 in Moscow, marking the promotion’s long-awaited debut in Russia. A heavyweight bout between veteran slugger Mark Hunt and submission wizard Oleksiy Oliynyk headlines the card, which is expected to stream live on UFC Fight Pass.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 136 card includes:
Mark Hunt vs. Aleksei Oleinik
Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Andrei Arlovski
Omari Akhmedov vs. C.B. Dollaway
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Terrion Ware
Krzysztof Jotko vs. Adam Yandiev
Petr Yan vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier’s immediate plans are simple: Beat Eddie Alvarez, get a title shot, and give out a bunch of backpacks.
Poirier’s The Good Fight Foundation, founded in April, is holding a back-to-school drive for students at Acadian Middle School in his hometown of Lafayette, La.
Poirier (23-5 MMA, 15-4 UFC) and his wife Jolie attended Acadian and hope to raise enough money for 500 backpacks filled with school supplies, in addition to updated computers for the teaching staff.

In the wake of an injury to interim welterweight champ Colby Covington, the UFC is in the process of finalizing a fight between undisputed champ Tyron Woodley and top contender Darren Till for UFC 228.
Woodley (18-3-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) today told MMAjunkie that bout agreements for the fight are not yet signed, but the matchup is likely to take place for the Sept. 9 pay-per-view card at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The news was first reported by ESPN.com.

The UFC’s return to New York City is turning into a middleweight party this fall.
The latest addition to the lineup is a 185-pound bout between Yoel Romero (13-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and Paulo Costa (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC). UFC officials announced the new booking today. The matchup joins two other key middleweight bouts already on the card: former champions Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman in a rematch, and David Branch vs. Ronaldo Souza.
UFC 230 takes place Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
The UFC 230 lineup now includes:
David Branch vs. Ronaldo Souza
Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman
Paulo Costa vs. Yoel Romero

A crucial middleweight rematch between a pair of former champions appears headed to the “Big Apple.”
Former middleweight titleholder Chris Weidman (14-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) and the man who beat him to take the belt, Luke Rockhold (16-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC), will meet again at UFC 230 in November, according to a report from Brett Okamoto at ESPN.com. UFC officials have not made a formal announcement of the booking.
UFC 230 takes place Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

A tournament bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen is official for Bellator 208.
As reported this past week, Emelianenko (37-5 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) and Sonnen (31-15-1 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) are slated to headline the Oct. 13 event.
The show, Bellator 208, takes place at NYCB LIVE’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. (on Long Island), and it airs on Paramount (and also streams on DAZN) following prelims on MMAjunkie.

UFC 230, which marks the UFC’s return to New York City, has its first fight.
Officials today confirmed a previously rumored fight between David Branch (22-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) and Ronaldo Souza (25-6 MMA, 8-3 UFC) for the November card (via Twitter)
UFC 230 takes place Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass, though the full fight card and bout order haven’t been finalized.

Anthony Smith, Manny Bermudez, Danny Roberts and David Zawada each earned $50,000 bonuses for their performances at today’s UFC Fight Night 134 event.
Smith and Bermudez each won “Performance of the Night” honors. Roberts and Zawada earned the “Fight of the Night.”
UFC officials announced the winners following the event.
Smith (29-13 MMA, 6-3 UFC) dropped an absolute destruction on former light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua (25-11 MMA, 9-9 UFC) in the main event. “Shogun” seemed to clip Smith early, but Smith recovered and put together a massive barrage that left Rua out cold in 89 seconds. It was his second straight win over a former champion after moving up to 205 pounds from light heavyweight.

The “Korean Zombie” is coming back, and he’s got the matchup he wants.
A featherweight showdown between Frankie Edgar and Chan Sung Jung will headline UFC Fight Night 139 on Nov. 10 at Pepsi Center in Denver. UFC President Dana White confirmed the booking to MMAjunkie following initial reports by BJPenn.com and ESPN.com.